The Zanzibar campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras was formally launched on Monday. Currently around 50 students have been admitted in the institute - 35 for Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science course and 15 students for M. Tech in AI and DS courses. The final details of admissions will be released shortly, according to the institute authorities.
Around 500 applications were received for the courses and students were selected through an eligibility test and interview.
Among the UG students around 15 are Indians and 8 from India have joined the PG programme. As many as 22 students in the UG programme are from Africa and around 40% of the students are women.
Zanzibar President and chairman of the Revolutionary Council Hussein Ali Mwinyi inaugurated the campus.
Adolf F. Mkenda, Minister for Education Science and Technology of the United Republic of Tanzania, Lela Mohamed Mussa, Minister of Education and Vocational Training in Zanzibar besides Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, the Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, former IIT Madras directors M.S. Ananth and Bhaskar Ramamurthi and Dean of School of Engineering and Science and Director-in-charge of Zanzibar campus Preeti Aghalayam were present in person.
Prior to the inauguration, Institute director V. Kamakoti told media persons that the entire exercise of setting up the campus took around six months from the time discussion began with that government till the Ministry of External Affairs signed the agreement with that government.
While the IIT would only invest in sharing its knowledge, the entire expense of setting up the campus will be borne by that government. In the next five years the institute has planned to start five new programmes, including PG and UG.
The courses planned are BS in Electronic Sciences, a B.Tech or M.Tech in Ocean Engineering and a programme in mining.
“We have admitted 30 students from Africa for fellowship so that they can be trained to become faculty (for the offshore campus),“ Mr. Kamakoti said.
The existing temporary campus is in Bweleo district, which is 15 km south of Zanzibar town.
The institute has also urged public sector banks to facilitate loans for Indian students who wish to study in the Zanzibar campus. The cost of UG education at the campus is around USD 12,000.
The Zanzibar government had committed around ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 crore and 232 acres of sea facing land to set up a campus, Mr. Kamakoti said. The permanent campus will be built by the governments of Zanzibar and India.
